A seminar on the recent advances in animal biotechnology: welfare and ethical implications by Valentine Obiasogu

1. DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
THE RECENT ADVANCES IN ANIMAL
BIOTECHNOLOGY: WELFARE AND ETHICAL
IMPLICATIONS
BY
OBIASOGU VALENTINE ODINAKACHUKWU
MATRICULATION NUMBER: 155490
OCTOBER, 2015

2. DEFINITION OF TERMS
• Animal biotechnology is any technological
application that utilizes animals to make or modify
products (Schook et al., 2014)
• Socrates defined ethics as “Knowing the difference
between good and evil and choosing to do good”
• Animal welfare is the science that deals with the
mental, physical health and well-being of animals
and thus, our moral obligations towards them
(Pascalev, 2006) 2

3. THE RECENT ADVANCES IN ANIMAL
BIOTECHNOLOGY
• Artificial Insemination (A.I)
• Embryo Transfer (E.T)
• Semen and Embryo Cryopreservation (S&EC)
• In-vitro oocyte maturation and fertilization (IVM/IVF)
• Sperm Sexing Technology (SST)
• Cloning
• Transgenesis
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4. THE RECENT ADVANCES IN ANIMAL
BIOTECHNOLOGY
• A.I is the introduction of semen and viable sperm
into the female reproductive tract via artificial
means (Schook et al., 2014)
• E.T is the transfer of a cultured, 7 days old embryo
into a recipient female animal of the same specie
• S&EC is a method of preservation of semen or
embryo by freezing to ensure viability and conserve
endangered species 4

5. THE RECENT ADVANCES IN ANIMAL
BIOTECHNOLOGY
• IVM/IVF is the fertilization of an ovum by a
spermatozoon outside the body
• SST involves sorting the spermatozoa according to its
DNA content using a standard flow cytometry
equipment
• Cloning is the creation of an organism that is an exact
genetic copy of another organism
• Transgenesis is a process whereby an isolated DNA
fragment is introduced into an animal so that the
resulting animal will express a desired trait 5

6. 6FIG. 1. ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
Source: images.google.com
FIG. 2. PROCESS OF TRANSGENESIS
Source: images.google.com

7. BENEFITS OF ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
TECHNIQUES
• Cost saving and effectiveness (Van Eenennaam, 2006)
• Convenience and safety (Abdullah et al., 2011)
• Tremendous shortening of generation interval
• Maintenance of superior females
• Prevention from extinction and environmental
sustainability (Seamark, 1993)
• Preservation of desirable traits(Abdullah et al., 2011)
• Production of desirable sex
• Increment of the rate of genetic gain (Pascalev, 2006)
• Generation of high quality low cost embryo 7

8. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ANIMAL WELFARE
AND ANIMAL RIGHTS
ANIMAL WELFARE ANIMAL RIGHTS
Using animals is morally right Using animals is morally wrong
We can use animals to benefit
ourselves
We should not use animals to benefit
ourselves
Our interests are always more
important than the interests of
animals
We should not invariably overrule the
interests of animals with human
interests
We should not inflict “unnecessary”
pain or death on animals
We should not inflict pain or death on
animals
We should treat animals as humanely
as convenient to us
We should always treat animals
humanely and eliminate the human
made causes of animal suffering
8Source: images.google.com

9. WELFARE AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS
• Loss of credibility in scientists amongst the public
(Hodges, 2003)
• Disappearance of the boundary between humans and animals
morally and biologically (Ohl and Van der Staay, 2011)
• Health, physiological complications and its long term effects
• Pain and suffering of animals (Seamark, 1993)
• Economic, environmental and social effects
(Schook et al., 2014)
• Food safety concerns (Cowan et al., 2009)
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10. RECOMMENDATION
It is true that animal biotechnology poses some ethical
and welfare problems. However, the suggestions
animal welfare scientist’s make must comply with the
moral values of the society in other to generate
sustainable approaches to animal welfare management
(Ohl and Van der Staay, 2011)
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11. CONCLUSION
Animal Scientist’s need to embrace a new vision
beyond the single-minded existing pursuit of
biological efficiency and move from an “Era of
Intensification” to a “Quality of Life Agricultural Era”
11

12. QUOTE
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and
from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but
already it was impossible to say which was which.”
George Orwell, Animal Farm
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FIG.3. AN ILLUSRATION OF GEORGE ORWELL’S QUOTE
Source: images.google.com

13. REFERENCES
Abdullah, B. R., Wan Embong, W. K., Soh, H. H. (2011). Biotechnology in animal
production in developing countries : 2nd international conference on
agricultural and animal science, IPCBEE volume .22 IACSIT Press,
Singapore.
AgBiotechNet. (2010, October 22). Cloning hopes for extinct species. Agricultural
Biotechnology website: http:www.agbiotechnet.com.
Bazer, F., Einsiedel, E., Gaskell, G. Murray, J., Riley, M. (2010). Ethical
implications of animal biotechnology: Considerations for animal welfare
decision making Animal Agriculture’s Future through Biotechnology,
Part 9, Number 46. USA: Council for Agricultural Science and
Technology.
Cowan, T. (2011). Agricultural Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues.
Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service On Biotechnology, the
Media and Public Policy, June 12, 2003.
Fiester, A. (2005). Ethical Issues in Animal cloning. Centre for Bioethics Papers.
Hodges, J. (2003). Livestock, ethics and quality of life. European Association for
Animal Production, Mittersill, Austria. Journal of Animal Science
2003.81:2887-2894. 13

14. REFERENCES
Krishna, S. V. (2007). Bioethics and biosafety in Biotechnology. New Age
International Limited
Lassen, J., Gjerris, M., Sandoe, P. (2006). After Dolly- Ethical limits to the use of
biotechnology on farm animals. Theriogenology
Ohl, F., Van der Staay, F. J. (2011). Animal Welfare : At The interface between
Science and Society . Journal of Livestock Science 103 (2006) 208–220
Pascalev, A. K. (2006). We and They : Animal Welfare in the era of advanced
agricultural biotechnology. The Veterinary Journal
Seamark, R. F. (1993). Recent advances in animal biotechnology : welfare and
ethical implications. Livestock production Science, 36, 5-15
Schook, L. B., Rund, L. A., Hu, W., Darfour-Oduro, K. A., Knapp, L. A.,
Rodrigues, F. M., Schachtscheider, K. M. (2014). Advances in
Animal Biotechnology. Elsevier Inc.
Straughan, R. (2006). Ethics, Morality and Animal Biotechnology. Biotechnology
and biological science research council
Van Eenennaam, L. A. (2006). What is the future of animal biotechnology.
California Agriculture Volume 60
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15. THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION
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